The Rebel Palate

(Click here to jump to today's recommended song, Gene Vincent's cover of Unchained Melody!) It's Valentine's Day, rebels! Even though I didn't post this in December like I wanted to, Valentine's Day is an equally opportune time to talk about making cookies. Last year, I got this Mirro "Cooky" Press for my birthday, because someone needed to get rid of it and thought I'd want it. And why not? It's food-related, it's old, and it's obscure. I wasn't sure how old it was at first, so I did some minor digging. Using The Internet Archive's handy-dandy "search within text" function (which I used in this post ), I found documents containing "Mirro Cooky Press" from as far back as 1949. A book called Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles says it's from the "1940s-1950s", and since it came out in the final year of the 40s... let's just call it 50s.

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Comu si Beddra by Angelo Daddelli & i Picciotti!) Ciao, ribelli. Gangster media is a staple of American pop culture. Everybody knows about The Sopranos, The Godfather and Goodfellas. Sometimes we sympathize with Mob characters or fantasize about being in their shoes. They have just about every status symbol- money, power, and ways of showing their money and power. Plus people have a morbid fascination with crime. But at the end of the day, we don't want to catch ourselves thinking we like the Mafia. In real life, they're real trouble. And forget about joining them- even the movies can tell you it's not a good idea. The victims are real, but in Sicily, they're taking a stand. Addiopizzo (or "Goodbye Pizzo"), is a nonprofit organization based in Sicily. They have a travel service and an online store . They partner with local businesses that refuse to pay the pizzo, or

Turns out acorns aren't just for squirrels. They're for humans, too- and they tase pretty darn good in biscotti. Weird, natural AND obscure! (Click here to jump to the recommended song, Brains by Aurelio Voltaire!) Howdy, rebels! Sorry for the embarrassingly short post on Thursday . I must take full responsibility for the crappy way I handled it. I didn't think the subject matter would be an absolute nothing sandwich, and I'd already "promised" to write something about maple syrup being out-of-season . So yes, apologies. Can't say it'll never happen again because I'm in the Early Installment Weirdness phase. I'm sure one day I'll regret 11 out of 10 of these posts. Anyway! Every fall I used to make acorn bread. My family hated it, but they were too nice to say so and ignored it instead, making me (read: our chickens) eat the rest. My dad said it "tasted honest", which I take as a compliment, but

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Bone Wagon by Peter McConnell!) Dandelions! You may hate them, but add spices and you've got yourself a nice cup of tea that's perfect for fall. Read this to find out how! Howdy, rebels! We're well into October. The leaves are changing into beautiful, warm colors, the air is crisp and my white girl instinct has been activated. I'm not a fan of pumpkin spice lattes, or any lattes for that matter, but this is the time when my cravings for chai-analogous spices kick in. It just so happens that I make a dandelion root tea using such spices! Let me show you how. First, a word of warning: Dandelion sap is a natural form of latex, so use dandelions at your own risk. I advise against using it if you're allergic to latex. If you're not sure, you may want to rub a broken stem on an inconspicuous area of your skin. You really should ask your doctor, though. I don't want to be responsible if you break out into a rash or g

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Unchained Melody as performed by Elvis Presley!) It's Elvis Week, that seven-day slice of time so named for being the anniversary week of Elvis Presley's death. Everybody knows how much the guy liked fried peanut butter-banana sandwiches, but there was another, more interesting sandwich with stranger lore behind it: The Fool's Gold Loaf. The Fool's Gold Loaf I made.   Some people call it "The Elvis Sandwich," as if it's his signature sandwich that absolutely everyone knows about INSTEAD of the peanut-butter banana... I digress. The legend goes that on February 1st, 1976, Elvis and a couple of his cop friends were reminiscing over an absolute madlad creation from Denver, Colorado. It was crafted by a bakery called the Colorado Mining Company- the Fool's Gold Loaf. An entire loaf of French bread with a jar of jelly, a jar of peanut butter and a pound of bacon inside. The outside was slathered in two tablespoo

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Burning Love as performed by Wynonna Judd!) It's June 26th, which means it's time to celebrate the best and cutest long-eared, beady-eyed Disney alien: Stitch! If you don't know, Stitch was one of the main characters in Lilo and Stitch. He was the 626th experiment by the mad alien scientist Jumba Jookiba, specifically designed for evil. In the movie, Stitch steals a spaceship and crash-lands in Hawaii, where he meets Lilo. As Stitch learns about Earth and becomes a "model citizen", he and his new friend bond over Elvis songs and their difficulty to fit in. Sounds like my kinda people.   Where'd he get that suit? I want one.   Here's why I decided on coconut tiramisu: in  Stitch! The Movie,  the third movie in the franchise, Lilo asks Stitch if he had coffee that morning because he was being hyperactive. He says he had "Coconut cake and  coffee!" I realized if I combined those two, I'd have a coconu

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, International Super Spy as performed by FoolishFrankie!) The Backyardigans was an animated show on Nick Jr. that aired from October 11, 2004 to July 12, 2013. It starred five brightly-colored anthropomorphic animal characters, presumably between the ages of 5 and 7, using their imaginations to go on all kinds of crazy adventures. The series focused heavily on music, featuring four musical numbers per episode. The songs have recently gained popularity on the Internet due to their impeccable flavor, or something like that. Don't feel bad if you're just hearing about this now, because I myself usually miss these types of things. International Super Spy is one of the most popular Backyardigans songs right now, and my brother and I just watched the two-part special the song was in. Stop reading and watch the episode now if you don't want spoilers. If you don't care, can you lend me some of your marbles? I lost all of mine. S

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, An American Trilogy as performed by Elvis Presley!) Monday is Memorial Day, and what's more patriotic than making a beverage for your cookout using an ingredient from your own backyard? If you're a New Englander like me, you may have seen bottles of birch beer in restaurant fridges or even at your local grocery store. If you've never tasted it, it has a delighful wintergreen taste that slightly resembles root beer. I myself have drunk storebought versions and made my own for years! Now it's time to show you how. NOTE: This recipe takes HOURS to make, so you may want to do this on a day off... maybe Sunday!   Also, this is a non-alcoholic recipe. If you're looking for a fermented birch beer, there are plenty of other tutorials for that on equally rebellious blogs. ;) I may make such a tutorial myself once I'm of age. YOU WILL NEED: - Sharp, straight-edged knife - Mixing Bowl - Pot/Saucepan - Hella birch twigs - Sugar